A Month in the Maze
by Live-n-Laugh
Summary: "Well, it's like you've heard, yeah? Every month, the Box sends up a new arrival. But someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade, alone. That was Alby." This is how I imagined Alby's month in the Glade alone.


**AN: This story is about Alby's month alone in the Glade, which I know didn't technically happen in the book, but Newt mentioned it in the movie and it made me wonder what his life would've been like alone. It starts with Gally coming up as the second glader and then it flashbacks to Alby's month alone. The next chapter should be up soon. This is my first story on here, so reviews would be great! - _Live-n-Laugh_**

The first thing he did was punch me in the face. I can feel the ache in my jaw. It's probably going to bruise, but I could honestly care less. This is the first person I've seen in thirty-one days. To me it feels like a lifetime, since the only life I remember having is the last thirty-one days that have been spent surviving in this strange place. I keep calling it a glade in my mind. Now if only I could remember what a glade really is. I have an idea, but every time I try to focus on the thought it slips away.

The other boy is lying on the ground next to me. He just threw up. Again. I don't judge him for it, I remember how badly I reacted when I was sent to live in the Glade. Kneeling down, I place a hand on his shoulder. I want to comfort him, and tell him everything will be okay. That this was all just some crazy dream. I wish I could, but I don't know how. "Hey, it'll be alright. You probably don't remember much right now, but can you at least tell me your name?" I spoke with a calm voice, hopefully he wouldn't freak out and try to punch me again.

"My name?" The boy spits in the grass and wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand.

"Yeah. Mine's Alby. It's about the only thing I remember from before being stuck in here. At least I hope there was a before." The boy sat up, and began looking around the Glade. He kept tapping his right middle and ring fingers on his knee. Nervous habit, I'm guessing.

"Um," he blinked and slightly shook his head. Then, he said it abruptly, as if he was afraid he'd forget if he didn't say it out loud. "Gally. My name is Gally." I grinned at him.

"Well, hello Gally. I'd like to personally welcome you to what I call the Glade. It ain't much, but it's kind of hard to do stuff when there's no one else around to help." I looked around this place with a slight swell of pride. The little shack I had across from the woods in the corner of the walled-in Glade and the fence I had started for the farm animals currently wandering near it didn't look like much, but I had made it from next to nothing. I was proud of the projects I had started.

While I was admiring my handy work, since I finally had someone to admire it with, Gally turned to look at me. "What do you mean 'there's no one around to help'?" Sighing, I gestured to the wide open space of the Glade we were currently stuck in. Nearly all of it was open field, except for the woods in the corner.

"Well, Gally, do you see anyone else here besides me?"

"Well," Gally looked around slowly, finally taking everything in, "No. No, I guess I don't. How long have you been here on your own for?"

"Thirty-one days." I closed my eyes. "Today makes thirty-one days. I'll show you where I kept track later."

Suddenly, there was a quiet rumble of thunder. A storm was coming. "Come on, I'll show you around later, there's another storm coming." Standing up, I held out my hand and helped him get up off the ground. He seemed a little shaky at first, but he seemed steady enough that I could let him go. Walking slightly in front of Gally, I headed toward the shack. Just as I walked through the hole left where a door should be it began to rain.

"It rains here?" Gally asked.

"Yeah, though not that often." I laughed. "It rained when I was first brought here, too."

"Really? What was it like being here on your own?"

Standing by the "door", I watched the rain fall. There was a clap of thunder, louder this time. The storm was getting closer. "Well, it wasn't that easy, I can tell you that much. I remember my first day here. You're a lot stronger than you might think for being able to handle all of this so well."

"Well I don't think I'm doing that great. Honestly I'm pretty terrified." Looking over at Gally, I could see the worry on his face. Shoving him slightly, I grinned at him.

"Compared to me, you're doing pretty well."

"Really?"

"Yeah, definitely. I remember my first day. I came up in the box, like you…"

 _ **Day 1**_

The first thing I felt when I woke up was pain. My head felt like it was being split open. Grabbing it in pain, I groaned, rolling over on my side. I couldn't even think, the pain was so intense. Then the floor began to move. It was too much to deal with at once, according to my body, because I quickly puked when it began picking up speed. I groaned, and slowly attempted to open my eyes. Where was I? What was going on? Looking around what seemed to be a large cage, I became confused. In one corner, there were boxes of something. They were all closed, so I couldn't tell what was in them. And, right across from me, were animals. Racking my brain, I tried to remember what they were called. Why couldn't I remember? I feel like I should just know, like I've known for all of my life. If I really have known all of my life, then why couldn't I remember now? Suddenly, their smell finally registered as gross in my brain, which was already throbbing, causing me to vomit again.

Coughing, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and swallowed, trying to get rid of the horrid taste in my mouth. One of the animals walked over to me, turning its head to the side and staring at me curiously. Then, it crowed, loudly, right next to my ear. And that's when it clicked. It was a rooster. The hen wasn't far behind it. There was a cow in the corner, along with three pigs. All of them were strangely silent, except for the rooster of course. Were they just as terrified as me?

Staring absentmindedly at the animals, the headache began to recede. I could feel a rush of new information. Or maybe it wasn't new, just the things I'd forgotten until now. My name is Alby. I am seventeen years old. I had friends (I think), and I had a family (maybe it's my imagination). Or at least there were people who took care of me like a family would. I tried to focus on faces, hoping I would at least be able to remember just one specific thing about the people I supposedly knew. Every time I tried, though, the headache would come back and intensify. I knew someone with blonde hair? Or was it black? Did the one kid have green eyes? Or blue? It was all too much to try and process at once. What was happening to me? Why was I in the cage?

There was a loud buzzing sound, and the cage abruptly stopped, sending me into the boxes in the one corner. The hen began squawking and running in circles, spooked by the loud noise. Slowly, the cage doors began to open at the top, filling the box with bright white light. I shielded my eyes with my hand, trying to let my eyes adjust. It was so bright compared to the cage I've been stuck in for who knows how long. When the doors opened all of the way, I slowly attempted to stand up. I fell almost instantly, my legs full of the pins and needles feeling from sitting for so long. The second time, I clung almost desperately to the side of the cage until the feeling in my legs began to disappear. Taking a wobbly step forward, I slowly walked toward the center of the cage. It began to move again, slowly this time, until the box was even with the ground. The chickens and pigs ran out of the box quickly, while the cow seemed content to take its time.

I looked around in awe. I was in the middle of a large, walled-in field. In the one corner there's a forest. Some smaller trees were near the edge, leading to the large trees that went all the way back to the wall. The rest of the area was open field with wild flowers spread out sporadically. The place felt strange to me though. With all of the calmness and peace the place seemed to give, something about it didn't sit with me right. Where were all of the people? I remember knowing people, right? So, where were they? Why am I alone?

I tried to talk. "Hello?" I croaked, and immediately began coughing afterwards. My throat was dry and sore from earlier. Swallowing, I tried again. "Hello?" It was a little louder than the first attempt, but not by much. "Is anyone there? Hello?" I began to think that maybe the people were in the woods. Yeah, that explains it. They were here, they just couldn't hear me. Slowly, I started walking towards the woods. The more I thought my idea was true the faster I walked, until I was sprinting to the woods. "Hello? Anybody? Hello?" Sprinting through the woods, I didn't even bother to try and dodge the branches in my way. I could feel some of them hit me hard, I think a few were giving me cuts. I didn't care, though, the only thing on my mind was finding someone else. Anyone else. I just needed to know what was going on. "Is anybody out there? Hello?" No one was responding.

I began to panic. Why wasn't anyone here? Don't they know that I'm here? Where is anybody? Pushing my body to its limits, I began to run even faster than before with reckless abandon. I had to find someone. I couldn't be alone, it just wasn't possible. Whatever put me here wouldn't leave me here with nothing but a few farm animals. Out of nowhere, I tripped on a tree root and fell down a hill, rolling to a stop by a small creek. Then I snapped. Tears began streaming down my face as reality set in. I was alone. There was no one here but me, and I have no idea what here is. I sobbed into the muddy ground beneath me. I was terrified. How could I be left here alone? I don't understand what's happening. Why would someone leave me here? What did I do to deserve this?

Thunder boomed above my head, and I turned over in confusion to look up at the sky. My body ached with the effort, already feeling the effects of running through the forest. It began to rain, and the water that slipped through the tree tops mingled with the tears I had shed. My cries were covered by thunder, my tears camouflaged by the rain, almost as if this place wanted to hide my sadness from whatever else was contained here, if there was anything else. And, even though I have no true memories of before here, I know that I have never felt more alone until that moment.


End file.
